My Sweet Pip,    
I've been reflecting the last few weeks about all that has happened in 365 days & trust me, you will hear about it your entire life...Your first year here baby girl, was one hell of a ride...And you have the scars to show for it - Literally...

 At least once a day, I run my finger over the scar that saved your life & fixed your heart...You endured so much, too much & because of it I know you can & will get through anything...I promise I will always tell you how strong you are & how proud I am of your spirited fighter determination...

But I don't want to reflect on all that today...I want to instead tell you how much I simply love you...Finding out I was even pregnant with you was shocking...Your brother was only 7 months old & we were just getting into the swing of having a baby when we found out we were having another one...

I remember finding out you were a girl, panicking cause I saw some tweens in outfits that made me cringe as a mumma & calling my girlfriends saying if you were going to be anything like your fiesty brother, I'm done for...

I bought you your first pair of Mary Janes & your little feet even now won't fit into them...They sit there & at this point I almost want to keep them to hang on to that sweet memory...

Two weeks before you were born we moved 7 hours away, you weren't supposed to be born till December 31st but I knew you'd be coming early...I wanted your room to be absolutely perfect...I had no intent of even putting you in there for months but I still wanted everything to be as I pictured it...

Life is funny like that Pip...You picture it a certain way & then when it somehow turns out different you can't even remember how you pictured it to begin with...I pictured you being healthy...I pictured you being loud & demanding like your brother...I pictured you fitting into this "typical" little family of 4...

And as life has it, you are none of those things...You were born with a hole in your heart & cataracts in your eyes...You are sweet & joyful & content...You also are rocking my perceptions of what "typical" or "normal" even is...You my darling girl are a life changer...
You are shattering what I pictured you and our lives to be into something so much more...Something so damn beautiful and unique that I now can't picture it any other way...
You have brought with you in such a short time such a light...You shine darling...And I can't wait to see how bright you get...

I adore you...I'm honoured, humbled & oh so happy to be your mumma...Happy 1st birthday my Reid Layne...So glad we made it thus far...

 I love you beyond

 Love Mum 
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 To friends of Happy Soul Project- Thank you so very much for all the love, best wishes, letters & thoughts to my baby girl...Just amazing...Over the next few days I will be sharing some of those letters & pictures from her 1st Tea Party Birthday...

 But on Happy Soul Project I want to share something very important to me- Something I poured my heart into & while I wanted to wait till today to share with everyone I just couldn't...A few nights ago while looking through all the birthday letters for Pip, I came across one from a young mum who wasn't sure how she stumbled upon Pip & Happy Soul Project...But because of Pip she had decided NOT to abort her baby boy with Down syndrome...Life changing...

 I knew it right away...My girl is going to change the world...She's changed mine..Shine on Pip, shine on...


 After reading that I posted this video on Happy Soul Project's Facebook page & I hope friends, you take a few minutes to watch this & share...
And thank you everyone for making my girl feel so beautifully special...